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A s early as the 1920s, Pablo Picasso became enchanted by the storied Côte d’Azur. Seduced by the sunshine, sea, and rich history of Southern France, he frequently escaped to the Riviera. After enduring the German occupation of Paris during the Second World War, the artist abandoned the city for Provence. Together with his partner Françoise Gilot, he settled in the village of Golfe-Juan at the invitation of the engraver Louis Fort.
By the time they arrived in Provence in 1946, Picasso was in his mid-60s and had seemingly accomplished all an artist could. He had pioneered new artistic movements, gained international recognition, and even enjoyed a retrospective at MoMA. Still, his work was not done. Surrounded by contemporary muses and ancient folklore, Picasso felt renewed in the South of France, where he spent the rest of his life shaping a whimsical and influential visual language.
From the real to the surreal, the South of France provided Picasso with endless creative stimulation in his final decades. Altogether, the later unique and editioned works presented in The World of Picasso: Including Works from the Collection of Marina Picasso explore the artist’s productive years along the French Riviera and pay homage to his beloved adopted home. Open for bidding from 8 June, the sale celebrates the mystique of the Côte d’Azur, which inspired some of Picasso’s most innovative ideas, and recognizes his lifetime of accomplishments.
Antibes
A tranquil resort town, Antibes provided Picasso with respite from the tragedy of war. He found a studio at the Château Grimaldi, where he spent six productive months in residence. Originally a Roman fort, the Château was built on the foundations of the ancient Greek town of Antipolis. Its Greco-Roman heritage appealed to Picasso, who had long been enchanted by mythology.
“I never draw fauns, centaurs, or mythical heroes [anywhere else],” Picasso said of the South of France. “They always seem to live in these parts’’. The above 1962 linoleum cut demonstrates the artist’s lasting preoccupation with the ‘Faune’, a playful symbol of peace and fertility with whom he identified.
At the Château, Picasso notably rescued an injured owl, who became his next muse. A lifelong aviphile, the artist nursed the disabled fledgling back to health, and – much to Françoise’s chagrin – embraced him as part of the family. Affectionately named “Ubu”, the bird began to populate Picasso’s work frequently (see lot 160). The owl held personal meaning for the artist, and carried status in the Côte d’Azur, where ancient inhabitants revered the creature for its wisdom and association with the goddess Athena.
Vallauris
Not far from the Château, Picasso first met Georges and Suzanne Ramié in 1946. The owners of the renowned Madoura pottery in Vallauris, they invited the artist to their studio, where he was immediately enthralled by the medium – so much so that he moved to Vallauris a year later. Under Suzanne’s tutelage, Picasso experimented in clay, working with various forms, textures, and glazes. With the studio, he designed hundreds of editioned ceramics in addition to unique pieces.
Suzanne often conceived basic forms, to which Picasso added sculptural and colourful flourishes. Their fruitful collaboration lasted decades and resulted in masterpieces such as the singular Frise à têtes de taureaux and iconic Grand vase aux femmes nues. In creating these works, Picasso tested the boundaries of painting ceramic wares, while furthering his study of zoomorphic and female forms.
Picasso also met his new love interest and muse at Madoura, Jacqueline Roque. Young Jacqueline, who became his second wife, was the subject of many accomplished ceramics and prints, including Femme au chapeau fleuri, a tile which very much resembles the painter-printmaker’s linoleum blocks.
Introduced to linocut printing in 1952, Picasso initially used linoleum blocks to produce a series of vibrant posters in Vallauris. Toros en Vallauris is perhaps one of his most successful compositions, wherein a bull and matador face off in opposing colour fields. Embracing his national pastime, the Spanish artist revisited bullfighting in Southern France. He felt at home at the arena and often depicted the bull, a symbol of his estranged homeland.
Cannes
Picasso delved further into linocut printing alongside printer Hidalgo Arnéra, using Jacqueline as his model. Profil de Jacqueline au Foulard represents Picasso’s first attempt at employing linoleum blocks for a significant work of art and was executed the same year the couple moved to Villa La Californie in Cannes.
In the Cannes hills, the artist happily worked in his home studio, surrounded by his children and pets. Visitors to the villa often recall the family’s menagerie, which included two darling dogs and Esmeralda, a mischievous goat. A gift from Jacqueline, Esmeralda’s angular form and roguish nature appealed to the artist, who rendered the animal in clay and bronze on numerous occasions (see lot 145).
Like the owl, the goat resonated with Picasso’s local community, for whom it symbolized lust and virility. Linked to Bacchus and Venus, the caprine family was associated with unbridled passion and the Arcadian paradise of the Mediterranean coast.
